The airfield was usually Steve's conjured fantasy, and not Miku's. And while he was still skittish to the idea of entering it, that didn't mean Miku had to keep away. So, instead of fall grasses or summertime, the airfield was plunged into deep winter.

She sat at on a snowbank, making snow bunnies. Her breath left white puffs in the air as she worked to smooth out the snow, and she'd long since pushed her red hood back from her face to keep it out of her way. Satisfied with the little family of snow bunnies, Miku nodded to herself and wandered further into the field.

She'd only gone about six steps when suddenly she sank into the snow to her waist. "Oh! Hey!" She tried to pull herself up, but having the physical strength of a piece of straw, gave up quickly and fell back against the side of the hole she'd fallen into with a sigh

Well, maybe she'd just sit here for a few minutes.

Paco was a man on a mission. It was a very serious mission of the utmost importance.

Depending on the definitions of "serious", "utmost", and "importance" at least.

There were people on this ship that needed to either be recruited onto Team Have Some Freaking Fun, and there were people who needed to be marked down to be shanghai'd into having fun the next time the Team had a plan. There were also people who he needed to talk to talk to on general principle because they were his friends and what else were friends for?

In other words, Paco was bored and in the mood to socialize.

Denizens of Stacy, beware.

[[OOC: Pick a location! Paco will find your character and socialize!]]

It had been a couple of days since Nanoha had brought Miku to the medbay. She hadn't moved since then, though her temperature and color had improved greatly. Her pulse had strengthened. Somewhere, deep down in her mind, Miku had been building her way back up. She didn't know exactly what had gone wrong, or where she'd lost her control, but she had, and it had been frightening.

Her mind felt muzzy and the rest of her had that pleasantly heavy sensation of waking slowly from a deep sleep. As she came closer to consciousness, Miku sighed heavily and opened her eyes, forcing them to focus on the redhead face down on her bedside, head pillowed on one arm. He looked a worse for wear, even sleeping as he was.

Miku lifted her arm and placed her hand on Steve's head.

After training with Zuko (and a shower), Hiccup had just wanted to relax. That meant a trip to Hydroponics, for fake sunshine on his face. At least until he got under the shade of a tree with bright pink leaves, anyway.

It also meant hanging out with his buddy.

There was outright giggling as Toothless nudged his side, rolling him over so that he could squeeze in under the shade, curled around his boy, and then Hiccup lay there against his dragon's side, one foot gleaming in the light, the toes of his other foot wiggling in the grass.

One hand idly reached up and over and scratched the dragon's neck so that his whole body rumbled as he purred.

The teenage Viking looked half-close to drifting off for a nap, but that wouldn't stop him from saying hello to anyone that passed by.

Luke was glad, as he walked through the doors of the Sensorium, that no trace of the hole he'd cut with his lightsaber remained.  In his haste to get at Steve, he'd not even thought about the consequences of making his own entrance to the place, but things looked normal again.  He'd have held this in the Jedi Temple, but he needed access to weapons that he was pretty sure Stacy, or at least Security, wouldn't have let out of the armory.  And here, any damage to the area would be correctable.  Like he'd told Steve, if they accidentally shot up the walls of the Temple, it could be a problem.

He was looking forward to teaching again, honestly.  Ben was getting to the point in his study of the Force that he only needed guidance, suggestions, rather than direct training.  And Luke loved to teach, having made it a point to get out to the apprentice classes at the praxeum and the Temple when he could get away from administrative duties.

One day, he promised himself, he'd be back in the Temple hearing the laughter of young Jedi again.  It was why he was here.

But for now, he had to focus on getting things set up for Steve.  The young man needed confidence and at least a method of defending himself in a pinch.

Yeah, it had been months since Steve had renounced his feelings for Claire, and he even had a girlfriend now. But something still ate at his nerves whenever it came to talking privately with her. Especially when she was the one who asked him to come talk to her. And especially when she wanted to meet somewhere strange, like hydroponics.

Steve had never actually been to hydroponics, so he was struck in awe as he stepped into the massive terrarium for the first time. Nice to know there was such a green place that wasn't virtual. Though there were probably man-eating alien plants or something creepy here.

At least his wandering train of thought was doing a good job of distracting him from worrying about what Claire wanted.

Well, until he saw her, anyway.

"Hey Claire," he said with an awkward little wave. "This is kind of off the beaten path..."

That... thing was back in her room again. Tonight, she could make out the semi-transparent twist of a spirit standing over her bed. Her guts churning, her skin clammy, she pretended she didn't see it and slid out of bed. It was hard to pretend when she could so pointedly feel it. Miku pulled on her robe and cinched the belt almost too tightly, her hands trembled so badly.

Leaving it again in the room, Miku padded to the next safest place she could think of - Steve's room and tapped very lightly on the door. "Steve? Are you awake?" Maybe, possibly... well, she hoped. Miku chewed on her lower lip and toyed with her new necklace.

The Sensorium was (once again, for this particular occupant) reflecting the glowing opulence of an upper level in the Imperial Palace.

Mara Jade Skywalker's hair was swept up off the base of her neck and she wore a very flowy, light green dress as she leaned against a balcony railing, watching imaginary traffic sweep past her. Above, below, across, the speeders were just flashes of light.

Every so often, a servant or some nameless Imperial would wander by and she would tense, idly worried that her subconscious would prompt Stacy to bring in someone less savory. Like her former Master.

For now, though, it was just traffic and night air.

You could spot a redheaded kid running through the hallways of Stacy this morning, occasionally yelling things like "WOOHOO!" and "YEAH FINALLY!"

Once the initial jubilation was over, Steve was quick to celebrate his newfound freedom. He went to the mess hall and ate a meal entirely consisting of real, non-slop food. He walked through every hallway he knew just because he could. He said hi to most people he ran into (who cared if they were untrustworthy and likely to stab him in the back later, they weren't science and medical staff!) He went to his room and flopped down on the bed, grateful to be anywhere that wasn't a 6x6 cell sectioned off by a bubble. He changed into some of the normal clothes he'd bought on shore leave, all too pleased to trash the ripped T-shirt he'd been covering up his injuries in.

And then he made his way to the obs deck, where he flopped down on one of the meaty couches and stared out into the Bleed, because it was endless and interesting to look at after spending three weeks staring at the same walls, the same ceiling and the same floor.

His upper right side was still a bit sore from the surgery, and there were still long bandages wrapped around his forearms, but he couldn't be bothered to care if anyone would ask him about them. He was free. Free.

It was even enough to make him stop thinking about things.

Miku was sleeping, quite deeply. She probably had Cargn to thank for that, but she didn't mind.

However, where she was sleeping, someone else would probably have had issue. Not that Miku cared. She turned over in her sleep, sighed deeply and hiccuped once. Who knew the floor of the quarantine room was so comfortable?

Luke made his way down to Quarantine.  It had been some time since Steve had been put into his containment bubble, and he knew the teen was getting a serious case of cabin fever.  Luke knew the feeling real well--how many times had they been called to their starfighters, only to sit for hours on end waiting?  How long had he spent in hyperspace between crises, not knowing what to expect when coming out the other side and having nothing to do in the meantime?  In a spacefaring society with faster-than-light travel, cabin fever was something that was well-known.

He would have knocked on the door coming in to Quarantine to announce his presence, but since Stacy wasn't made of wood, that option was taken away from him.  So he settled for clearing his throat loudly to get Steve's attention.

[ooc: BENDYTIME, ACTIVATE! Anytime after the crew has returned to the ship.]

When the medics finally woke Steve up from his healing trance, he was not in the best of moods.

For one thing, the trance had left him feeling much, much better than before-- but had not done much for the virus. A good supply of bandages were able to conceal many of the external signs, but he couldn't very well wrap them around the green marks on his face, his fingers or both of his eyes. His levels were stable but until the virus had gone back into remission, he was stuck in quarantine.

For another, there was no news as far as what had caused GLaDOS to go off on him. No clues as to who found out about him, no sign of who might have done it-- just the knowledge that someone on this crew, who he was supposed to trust, was capable of attacking him like that and there was little to be done about it right now.

And of course, someone had to inform him that Zokez II had been nearly annihilated by the Ohm. The beautiful beaches, resorts and cities-- the places where he spent a happy week relaxing, feeling normal, and spending time with Miku-- were gone, destroyed, the people fled and with no hope of rebuilding. His week had been cut short anyway, but now it felt like the whole thing had been ripped away from him. Even the happy moments he had here on this ship were fleeting-- in the end, everything was now just a memory, stuck in the past and never to come again.

And furthermore, he'd slept through it. The first encounter with the Ohm, the stupid aliens who were the whole reason he was awake on this goddamned ship in the first place, and Steve was too busy sleeping off a virus outbreak that nearly stole his mind from him to help out.

"A mistake" indeed.

Steve was not in any kind of mood at all as he sat on the floor and leaned against the bubble, staring at the ceiling. His silhouette was visible through the dimmed bubble.

The downside of gathering long term supplies for the crew, was that Lex did have to make sure they were all brought on board and stowed away properly. It cut into his vacation time, but it was a small price to pay to get some business done, and make a few connections that he'll be able to call on later. Besides, with 99% of the crew off the ship, for once, it allowed him freedom to do a few things, like have a word with a certain AI that wasn't Stacy.

Sitting at one of the terminals in Neuropathy, Lex navigated his way through part of the AI multiplex, until he came across the one he wanted to speak to.

"Hello, GLaDOS. I need to have a word with you."

You're on a vacation planet, taking a well-deserved vacation. But do you know where your mismatched set of El Paso's Best Sidekicks are?

They're not sunbathing.

They're not shopping.

They're not swimming or dancing or sleeping.

No, Paco and Brenda are on a mission. A mission to locate a certain other ginger-and-black-haired twosome and take advantage of the entertainment the vacation planet had to offer.

Steve and Miku, you're about to get double-dated!

It was nice to be out on solid ground, to breathe fresh and salt-tinged air, and to feel the real warmth of the sun on her neck and shoulders, Nanoha thought. She felt a very deep urge welling up within her breast to just take flight, to soar through an actual sky in the first time in months - and she had no doubt that she would.

But there were other things she had to take care of first. Like, for instance, swimsuit shopping with her best friend.

"Ooh, this store looks like it might have some cute ones!" Nanoha tugged on Fate's hand, pulling her towards one of the storefronts that lined this street of the bustling shopping district. Even if it didn't, there were still plenty of others to try, and plenty of cute outfits to convince Fate to try on.

(ooc: It might help to have just one thread for ALL YOUR SHOPPING NEEDS? Feel free to tag in and mingle, if you're shopping for clothes, groceries, games, whatever!)

Luke thought that he'd been doing entirely too much thinking since coming aboard Stacy.

He knew that since he'd taken on the task of rebuilding the Order, he'd become less inclined to act before he thought about it first; it was as though the words of Yoda (Adventure--tch!  Excitement--heh!  A Jedi craves not these things) had taken root in his mind.  That was probably Yoda's goal.  But still, it seemed he'd found himself out on the Obs Deck, staring into the Bleed, far too often since awakening from podsleep.

Nonetheless, there was a lot on his mind, and his father was foremost among it all.  As it stood, Vader was a huge danger to anyone and everyone who got in his way on Stacy, and as much as Luke hated the idea of locking his own father up or somehow otherwise restraining his movement on the ship, he had to think of the rest of the crew too.

Sighing, Luke shifted a bit on the squishy seat, blue eyes half-closed and faraway.

Sometime during the regular comings and goings aboard the meatship, an announcement rings out across all portions of the ship.

||Attention crew,|| Stacy's voice says, ||As significant interest has been shown for it, and enough time has passed since the Nightmare King incident to prevent unnecessary mental issues, the procedure to unlock the memories of the destruction of your homeworlds is now available to all crew members. If you are interested, please proceed to any empty sensorium and I will begin the process.||

A slight pause, then...

||If you have a history of mental issues, please use extra consideration when deciding on whether or not to take the procedure. That is all.||

Should anyone decide to take her up on her offer and head to the sensoriums, they'd find a clean, clinical-looking white room with a dentist-style chair (sans scary drills, of course) in the middle.

||Please, take a seat.||

[OOC:Instructions.]

If the Mess Hall normally smelled like anything, it was the bland, flavorless glop that the crew was accustomed to eating. But if you were to pass by the room today, you might notice a different smell. A good smell - the smell of actual food.

Nanoha Takamachi and Miku Hinasaki have been hard at work cooking up a feast of authentic homemade Japanese cuisine, and the entire ship is invited. Have at it!

(ooc: Thread amongst yourselves; Nanoha and Miku will be tagging around and making sure everyone's having a good time, but it's a party!

There's pretty much every type of Japanese cuisine here that they thought non-Japanese would enjoy/be familiar with: Hand-rolled sushi, some gyoza potstickers, udon bowls, agedashi tofu, and a variety of other dishes. If you're familiar with it, they probably made some.)

Her legs felt like jelly; straddling the motorcycle the way she was, Miku's feet barely touched the ground. She chewed her lip and looked down at her hands, which were gripping the handles so tightly she thought she'd break them.

Her.

Breaking handlebars off like some kind of superhero. Ah, if only that made her feel better about things. She looked up at Steve and worried her lip some more, "Are... we really sure this is a good idea?"

If she'd counted her days right (and Miku was sure she had), then it was October for her. Her birthday, to be precise. Miku looked at her reflection in the mirror. She certainly didn't look like she was twenty, did she? But, what had she expected, a sudden aging overnight?


Miku prodded at her cheek with a finger and made a face. Maybe she'd been expecting the start of a wrinkle, or a hair suddenly turned gray. But no, nothing different, and nothing new. Miku turned to look at the conjured house around her again, finding some solace in the familiarity of home. It was important, of course, not to let herself stay in here too long. There were things she had yet to learn, and things that needed to be done.

She scurried from the bathroom to the foyer, from the foyer to to the living room, past a sleeping Ruri curled on the couch, and outside where she'd been doing something nice and asinine - raking October leaves up in the yard to use them for fuel to make sweet potatoes.

It was her birthday, after all, she deserved a nice treat.